Can you afford daycare in Canada?

For most people, a baby is an emotional decision. Something deep within your belly swells as you see an adorable toddler in plaid eating brunch. You get all warm and fuzzy at the thought of teaching your kid to play baseball.

And you know, you KNOW babies cost money. Diapers, baby gates, miniature clothing, miniature shoes, ballet lessons, hockey lessons, extra tutoring in math, extra tutoring in Mandrin because your child is obviously going to run a hedge fund in 35 years so she can support you in retirement.

But we’re not sure you’re aware of EXACTLY how expensive daycare is. Because the thing is with a child, until they’re in school (free!) they need supervision!

CBC reported this month that Canadian families spend ONE FOURTH OF THEIR INCOME ON CHLD-CARE. That means Canadian families have one of the most EXPENSIVE childcare out of all the rich OECD nations around the world. Depressing. Most people in rich countries spend just 15%.

What does this mean? Does this mean you can’t have offspring or have to have less offspring than you prefer? I mean, if you want to have a reality tv show about your 19 kids and you make $50, 000 a year then yes probably, you will have to have less offspring than you prefer. But generally speaking, you just need a PLAN.

You need to figure out what sort of childcare you want and is available to you, how many kids you want and the spacing of each of them.

In the best case scenario the baby can be watched by a grandparent. But more likely, they will have to be watched by a parent or someone the parent hires.

If a parent watches him, that means a parent is not at work. That means you will loose an entire income, which may in fact be worth it to you, especially if you have a low-paying job and aren’t really interested in leaning-in.

Or you can decide that both parents will continue working in which case you must pay someone to watch him — either a nanny or daycare. But, maybe families are choosing to keep one parent at home to save on daycare. As the article notes:

“The OECD says child-care costs are a major issue for young people, since many are forced to take time away from the workforce while their children are young. “It is usually the mother who stays at home,” the report says. “Resuming employment after some years out of the workforce is difficult, and women often face wage penalties upon their return to work.”

To make a plan you need to talk to your co-baby-creator about all your options and also potentially consider lobbying the government as hard as #&*#& for affordable childcare, or demanding higher wages so that one parent can afford to stay home.

You also need to sign-up for our amazing course, which is coming soon and will ensure you BABY PROOF YOUR FINANCES!